#F1 2020 Test 1, Day 1 Roundup – @LewisHamilton leads @MercedesAMGF1 1-2.

It was Lewis Hamilton who topped the timing sheets in a Mercedes one-two in F1’s opening day of pre-season testing at the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

 

 

Hamilton headed the time-sheets from team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.337 seconds as the Silver Arrows clocked up 173 laps in mileage, the most of any team.

 

The Briton took over from Bottas in the afternoon collecting more aerodynamic data and running a number of system tests.

 

Hamilton ran a total of 94 laps and his quickest time of the day was a 1:16.976.

 

It’s been a good day and a really good start for all of us, considering we had a long break,” reflected Hamilton on the first day. “So to come back and clock in over 170 laps just shows how hard everyone has been working over the winter.”

 

We will just take it one step at a time, getting good feedback from the car. We have a lot of data to download and analyse and we’ve got to keep pushing on. A huge thank you to everyone back in Brackley and Brixworth for the incredible effort that’s gone in over the winter to make sure we come here and have a car that’s reliable to start with so we can get this mileage done. I hope everyone back at the factory is happy with how the day went and we’re just going to keep churning out as many miles as possible.” Hamilton concluded. Credit to Mercedes for the quote.

 

 

The aforementioned Bottas was second quickest on the day posting a 1:17.313 with the Finn reaching 79 laps in his morning run.

 

Bottas’ morning in the F1 W11 EQ Power+ consisted of gathering aerodynamic data and collecting information on how the car reacts to different setup changes.

 

Mercedes’ busy first programme focused on aerodynamic validation checks, reliability tests and confirming tyre behaviours in different temperatures.

 

Mercedes-Benz power-trains completed a whopping 1,950 kilometres of mileage on the opening day of testing.

 

I’m very impressed that we could start at 9am, going straight out and doing some longer runs without any issues and really execute our plan for the morning perfectly,” explained Bottas on his first day. “We could get everything done which is just impressive considering how much work goes into our cars.”

 

“In the morning when it was still relatively cold, we focused mostly on aero tests with rakes on the car. Later on we did some work on set-up changes – bigger changes than we would normally do on a race weekend when it’s more about fine-tuning. In testing you have the chance to do that and see how the car reacts to those big changes. I had a very good feeling, the car feels good and fast, but I’m sure we can make it a lot faster. It’s been a really nice starting point, but it’s early days, so it doesn’t mean a whole lot.” Bottas concluded. Credit to Mercedes for the quote.

 

Hamilton will run the morning session today whilst team-mate Bottas hops back in the W11 for the afternoon.

 

Sergio Perez was third quickest in his BWT Racing Point F1 Team RP20 entry as the Mexican set the third quickest time of the day with a 1.17.375, only 0.062 adrift of second-placed Bottas’.

 

Perez ran a total of 58 laps and completed 269.99km of mileage with the team running system checks.

 

“My first impressions of the new car are positive,” said Perez. “Obviously, there’s still a long way to go with a lot of things we have to get on top of – but it’s definitely a promising start,”

 

“We spent the morning learning about the car and did a lot of aero testing with a couple of quick laps. Putting mileage onto the car is really important, especially with a limited amount of testing days available, and we have already gathered good information for the engineers. Hopefully we can keep improving in the coming days.”Perez concluded. Credit to Racing Point for the quote.

 

 

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen had an eventful opening day of testing, spinning his Honda-powered RB16 racer twice, but the Dutchman set the fourth fastest time of the day, and clocked up 168 laps.

 

“Well, I think it’s been a good day,” explained Verstappen. “The car’s been working really well together with the engine. That’s what we want to see, for us that’s the most important thing – very happy about that. We just want to learn the car, try things about the car and look through the data and see what we can improve,” Verstappen concluded. Credit to F1 for the quote.

 

 

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top five in his striking new Honda-powered AT01 with the Russian completing 115 laps as the team focused on gathering aerodynamic data, background tests, basic setup work, longer runs on the C2 compound of tyre and pit-stop practices.

 

“I think it was a pretty comfortable day, we didn’t encounter any big issues and we ran reliably,” reflected Kvyat after day one of running. “The car felt like home pretty much straight away,”

 

“We’ve completed the routine checks at the start of the day which made our morning a bit slow, but it’s necessary for the team at the first test. Once that was done we were able to get some good laps in and understand the new car a bit better. We also worked on setup items, some of which you wouldn’t really try on a race weekend. It’s hard to comment too much on the progress made over winter because it’s the first time we properly run the car and you certainly need more time to find the sweet spot.” Kvyat concluded. Credit to AlphaTauri for the quote.

 

 

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz was sixth fastest on the time-sheets in what was one of the Woking-based outfit’s best days of running in a long time as the Spaniard clocked up 161 laps (749 km of mileage) and posted a 1:17.842.

 

“A very good job by everyone today, it shows that hard work over the winter pays off,” explained Sainz. “I managed to complete 161 laps, which is a very decent number for my first day,”

 

“The car already feels a step on from last year. We aren’t reading too much into the track times, but knowing that we’re completing race simulations and pit-stops on the first day is a very good achievement.” Sainz concluded. Credit to McLaren for the quote.

 

 

Daniel Ricciardo ran the afternoon session for Renault as the Australian took seventh on the time-sheets with a 1:17.873. Ricciardo’s time in the car was limited initially, whilst the team worked on the R.S.20. He completed 56 laps for the Enstone-based French works squad.

 

“It’s great to be driving again and I felt quite comfortable in the car from the get-go, which was cool,” Reflected Ricciardo. “Esteban obviously warmed the car up nicely this morning, and I felt I was more or less straight back into it and in a rhythm when it was my turn in the afternoon,”

 

“There are improvements on the car and we’ve obviously changed it a lot visually, which is quite clear when you look at the front nose. The improvements are there, and ultimately that’s what we’re targeting. It’s too early to make any comparisons, but our reliability was pretty strong, and I would say it’s promising. You can’t ask for too much more from day one, so I’m happy with that.” Ricciardo concluded. Credit to Renault Sport for the quote.

 

 

Esteban Ocon returned to the Renault squad, taking eighth behind team-mate Ricciardo on the time-sheets in his first day of running as the Frenchman completed 62 laps in the morning, building mileage and growing comfort in the R.S.20 racer.

 

“It feels awesome to be back driving a Formula 1 car,” said Ocon as he reflected on his morning run. “I had a big smile on my face leaving the garage as it’s been a while since I’ve had my own race car,”

 

“It’s really cool to think about the thousands of hours which have been put into creating this car and then feeling it come alive on track. In terms of our programme, we’ve made a solid start and we have a good base to work from. We know we have to keep working this week and make some improvements ready for the first race. We have to be precise in our work and make everything count. I’m looking forward to continuing the progress through the week.” Ocon concluded. Credit to Renault Sport for the quote.

 

 

ROKiT Williams Racing’s George Russell and Nicholas Latifi finished day one of pre-season testing in ninth and twelfth on the time-sheets respectively at the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya.

 

Russell spent the morning collecting aerodynamic data and completing longer runs on the different tyre compounds understanding the characteristics of the FW43.

 

“I was happy with this morning’s running, completing 73 laps, and the feeling was positive,” explained Russell on his morning. “We had an intense programme planned, and it was important to get out from the beginning so that we could get back into the pits first and get on with the day,”

 

“The general handling of the car is much better, and from lap one I had confidence to push the car to the limit. The FW43 is an improvement on last year, the lap times are the important thing and we will only know at the end of next week where we are. Overall, it has been a very positive morning, we just need to focus on our programme and get the most out of testing. We are excited for the new season, I am confident that we will be racing this year.” Russell concluded. Credit to Williams for the quote.

 

Latifi took over from Russell in the afternoon, doing longer runs and building on from the work the Briton undertook in the morning.

 

“Overall, it was a very positive first day testing with the team,” added Latifi. “I can definitely feel that the car has taken a step forward from last year, so thanks to the team for their hard work over the winter. We just have to keep plugging away each day and learn how the car reacts and see if we can find some more performance. All in all, I’m very pleased with the  first day of running.” Latifi concluded. Credit to WIlliams for the quote.

 

 

Lance Stroll rounded out the top ten for BWT Racing Point F1 Team as the Canadian completed 50 laps in the afternoon and covered 232.75 kilometres in mileage, posting a 1:18.282.

 

“I feel good but it’s still early days,” explained Stroll. “We had a smooth afternoon and I completed over 200 kilometres of running without any problems. That’s the best way to start a test. It nice to be back behind the wheel again after the winter break. The first day of testing is all about getting comfortable and clocking up the laps on the car. There’s a lot of work ahead of us over the next couple of weeks – but there’s a good atmosphere in the garage after day one.” Stroll concluded. Credit to Racing Point for the quote.

 

 

Charles Leclerc was handed a full day of running after team-mate Sebastian Vettel was unwell to take part in the opening testing session of 2020. The Monegasque-youngster wound up 11th on the time-sheets, completing 131 laps and setting a 1:18.289.

 

“Today was about the program and laps,” reflected Leclerc after the opening day of running. “It is too early to say where we are in terms of performance. We have not pushed to the limit. As I said, we want to focus on getting to know our car better,”

 

“This car seems to be a lot quicker in the corners but we will only know in Melbourne. Based on the numbers, we have more downforce. We changed our approach for testing a little bit compared to last year. We’re focusing more on ourself to understand the car better.” Leclerc concluded. Credit to Ferrari for the quote.

 

 

Test and development driver Robert Kubica was 13th quickest with full-time driver Antonio Giovinazzi bringing up the rear of the time-sheets in Formula 1’s opening day of pre-season testing.

 

The Hinwil-based outfit ran 138 laps in total with the team focusing on it’s major objective of mileage and finding performance.

 

Kubica posted a 1:18.386, only 0.004 adrift of Latifi’s time and completed 59 laps in the morning.

 

“As you can imagine, it has been a very special day for the team and also for myself, having worked with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN for the first time on the track,” explained Kubica. “Driving a new car, the new baby of the team, always represents a lot of emotions, but having a productive day is what really mattered,”

 

“I think the session was quite smooth for us, although there are still many things to be tested. in the end, though, it has been a good start.” Kubica concluded. Credit to Sauber Group for the quote.

 

Giovinazzi took over from the Pole in the afternoon, understanding how the C39 racer behaves and completing longer runs. The Italian ran 79 laps and set a 1:20.096.

 

“I’m happy the start of this season was a positive one,” explained Giovinazzi after his afternoon session in the C39. “The first feeling with the car is quite good and I can’t wait to be behind the wheel again,”

 

“We mostly did long runs, so we still need to see how the car behaves with less fuel and a softer compound, but the important thing is that we had no issues at all. Let’s see how we continue in the next few days.” Giovinazzi concluded. Credit to Sauber Group for the quote.

 

 

Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen finished his first day in the Ferrari-powered VF-20 racer, 14th on the time-sheets and sandwiched in-between the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN duo of Kubica and Giovinazzi.

 

The Dane completed 106 laps (4.655 kilometres in mileage), the most ever recorded by a Haas F1 Team car on the opening day of pre-season testing.

 

Magnussen set a time of a 1:18.466 as the Kannapolis/Banbury squad focused on reliability, signing off components and working on the balance of the VF-20.

 

“I feel good, but tired, as it was a long day – that’s a positive thing,” reflected Magnussen after a solid day in the VF-20. “We got lots of running in, that’s what we needed for the first day just to get to know the car,”

 

“It felt good, but it’s always difficult to tell whether you’re competitive or not, but at least the feeling was good in the car even though it’s early days. We had a tight test plan for the day, we got most of it done, I think we just missed one run. It’s going to be interesting to get Romain (Grosjean) in the car tomorrow and see what his feedback is with the set-up changes planned and the various things we throw at the car.” Magnussen concluded. Credit to Haas F1 Team for the quote.

 

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F1 2020 Pre-Season Testing Day One Results Classification

 

You can read the Formula 1 Testing Driver Lineups for this week’s running at the following link: #F1 2020 Pre-Testing Driver Lineups – Week 1. @F1 @Circuitcat_eng

 

Also read this excellent data analysis write up from Lawrence Barretto from the opening day of testing via F1.com: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.f1-testing-what-the-data-tells-us-from-day-1-2020.17g10WO6ofCptL7kxWMKyJ.html

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